Fourth-grade gifted students are shown to be capable of developing a researchable problem in psychology, gathering data and reporting results. As a result of the experimental course, several students expressed interest in becoming psychologists. Also, the number of science fair projects based on psychological research increased the next year. (RM)

Examines the effects of mental imagery instruction on 37 gifted fourth and fifth grade students' creative writing and development of imagery vividness. Finds that treatment subjects significantly outperformed control subjects on originality and use of sensory descriptions but not on writing length. (MG)

A fourth-grade teacher, who was employed to provide a special enrichment program to minority children with above-average academic abilities, designed a practicum to increase parent involvement in her classroom. A parent volunteer questionnaire and an activities survey form were developed to determine the level and nature of parent interest. A…

A practicum study was conducted to raise the reading comprehension level of students at least one grade level by using Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI), and to determine the kind of student who would most benefit by the use of CAI. A control group of 35 students and three experimental groups of 19 computer students, all in fourth or fifth…

The differential effects of two different types of problem-solving training on the problem-solving abilities of gifted fourth graders were studied. Two successive classes of gifted fourth graders from Weslaco Independent School District (Texas) were pretested with the Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) and Thinking Creatively With Pictures…

A 3-month practicum utilized teacher workshops and biweekly consultation to provide all fourth grade teachers (N=11) in a public school district with higher level questioning strategies to meet gifted students' cognitive needs. A total of six fourth grade students were identified as gifted and talented. At the workshops, higher level questioning…

This paper describes a project to improve the responsibility levels of 16 gifted students in fourth grade attending a daily 2-hour language arts gifted education class. Students had become inconsistent about completing assignments, maintaining an orderly environment, and communicating necessary information to parents. A teacher-developed checklist…

A teacher used classics of children's literature to teach critical reading skills. Although scoring above the national average on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS), the teacher's fourth-grade gifted students exhibited problems with critical reading skills. A literature unit involving whole language strategies and using Beverly Cleary's…

This practicum was designed to help five bright but underachieving fourth grade students in four classes regain their enthusiasm for learning through a multi-pronged approach with parents, students, classroom teachers, and specialists. Two workshops on learning styles and differentiated instruction were held for classroom teachers. Communication…

A study of 786 fourth-grade students (229 gifted and 557 nongifted) assessed the effects of both heterogeneous and homogeneous grouping in cooperative learning settings on the performance of gifted and nongifted students. Results found that gifted fourth-grade students experienced no adverse effects as a result of interacting with nongifted…